This podcast summarises a range of resources that can help teachers better plan and monitor for effective literacy teaching and learning. We encourage visitor to download the presentation slides and resources at http://bit.ly/2-Planning-Monitor

Teaching According to the Stages of Literacy Development

Apr 10th, 2017 1h 4m

This is a presentation that explores the changing nature of literacy across the various stages of literacy development. In so doing, we discuss how instruction must change as learners consolidate core skills and prepare for new skills and expec

How to plan and monitor effective teaching and learning - a video presentation

Mar 11th, 2017 49m 59s

This is a presentation that provides advice on "How to plan and monitor effective teaching and learning". It emphasises the need for teachers to develop scaffolded activties that provide learners with the skills to succeed. Presentation slides

An Overview of Literacy Development

Feb 14th, 2017 1h

The presentation explores the many components of literacy development, the stages of literacy development, and the dual-demands of "code-based" and "meaning-based" practices. To be exact, it sets out to meet the following objectives: (a) to ex

Coming Soon ... Teaching Routines

Nov 23rd, 2016

“Literacy can be seen as dependent on instruction, with the corollary that quality of instruction is key. This view emphasizes the developmental nature of literacy — the passage of children through successive stages of literacy, in

Scaffolding deep reading: a personal recollection

Oct 28th, 2016

I have an entrenched memory of something I experienced in the eighth or ninth grade. One of my friends was taking part in a weekly book club in the library at our school. This weekly book cl

Protecting Indigenous languages as vibrant, literate cultures

Oct 14th, 2016

Article 13 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states that:Indigenous peoples have the right to revitalise, use, develop and transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosoph

Celebrating our third anniversary!

Sep 20th, 2016

Can you believe it? We are approaching the third anniversary since the original launch of Wittgenstein on Learning, which has since morphed into The Literacy Bug. For the curious, check out

Podcast #5: A Response to "Encoding, Decoding and Understanding (Print) Language"

Aug 12th, 2016 8m 39s

Welcome to another episode of The Literacy Bug Podcast! This week I respond to the recent blog entry called “Encoding, Decoding and Understanding (Print) Language”. In the mentioned blog entry, I casually glossed over the importance of oral lan

In the Spirit of Wittgenstein: Seeking a Clear View of Literacy

Aug 1st, 2016

Following on the heels of the most recent blog entries (here and here), we have another unpublished entry to share from the archives … Unpublished no more, though. Whilst there are some rough edges to it, it is posted here as part of the ongoin

The Machinery of Language and Literacy

Jul 27th, 2016

In light of the most recent blog entry - Encoding, Decoding and Understanding (Print) Language - I've gone back to the archives to revisit an unpublished piece from the past. Whilst there are some rough edges, it is posted here as part of the o

Encoding, Decoding and Understanding (Print) Language

Jul 25th, 2016

IntroductionPlease permit me to be abrupt ... at the start, at least. Isn't literacy merely the encoding, decoding and understanding of language? Simplistic though it may sound, print is the younger cousin of the much older member the family.

Stay connected with The Literacy Bug

Jul 6th, 2016

Would you like to be notified of the latest updates to The Literacy Bug? Do you wonder if you missed something? Well, you're in luck. There are a few ways to stay connected with The Literacy

The pupil must want to go on alone in taking language to the world

Jul 5th, 2016

I can't seem to shake a preoccupation that continues to surface whenever I try and come to some synthesis of literacy. I am dogged by a persistent dichotomy. On the one hand, literacy is a skill to be mastered, which involves the methodological

New Reading Lists Added to The Literacy Bug: Stages of Literacy Development

Apr 30th, 2016

It is with great pleasure that we make this small - yet important - update. We would like to announce that we have categorised some of our recommended references according to Jeanne Chall’s

A story that cuts right to the heart of the Opportunity to Learn issue

Mar 11th, 2016

I have mentioned it before and it is a concept that I will return to again and again; the issue of equality in opportunity to learn. Today, I thought I’d spend some time reflecting on a short story I once wrote that relates directly to the main

We should all agree that everyone deserves a high quality education

Jan 28th, 2016

We all seem to agree that everyone deserves a high quality education; however, I anticipate that there would some disagreement as to what a quality education might consist of.To be educated

Change is technically simple and socially complex

Dec 17th, 2015

I think I have driven myself mad on the topic of literacy. I do not exaggerate. The opening statement is not meant to be a rhetorical device. I mean, I just completed a siz

Fostering Reading Comprehension ... and Dispelling a Few Myths at the Same Time

Dec 8th, 2015

How can one explain the expression, transmit one’s comprehension? Ask yourself: How does one lead anyone to the comprehension of a poem or of a theme? The answer to this tells us how meaning is explained here. Let’s simplify language to the dec

Podcast #4: Targeted Teaching Relies on Quality Assessment Practices

Oct 31st, 2015 12m 51s

Even though we are referring to this as the fourth episode of the podcast, it is the first one under the name The Literacy Bug. Originally, in its previous form, the podcast applied Ludwig Wittgenstein’s philosophy of language to the domain of

Updates Galore! New pages, assessment advice and teaching strategies at The Literacy Bug

Oct 29th, 2015

Wow! It has been far too long since the last update to The Literacy Bug's Journal. I dare not ask when the last update was. Despite the long silence - or perhaps to explain it - we have some

Perennial Themes Can Be Found in the Books for the Youngest of Readers

Jul 8th, 2015

There is the old phrase, “everything I needed to know I learnt in kindergarten.” I think this also applies to the themes that weave amongst the earliest books encountered at a young age. Aren’t the vivid animal stories captured in engaging pict

A new section has been added to The Literacy Bug ... Recommended Links

Jul 4th, 2015

We've added a page of links that we recommend. We have only included links that provide authoritative, reliable, useful, creative and/or engaging resources and perspectives on language, literacy and learning. Some are hosted by reputable litera

CTELL'S 12 Principles of Effective Literacy Instruction

Jun 19th, 2015

I thought I would share CTELL'S 12 PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE LITERACY INSTRUCTION. My eyes scanned over them recently, and it reminded me of their use. (The list can also be found at the Literacy Glossary)CTELL (Case Technologies to Enhance Lite

Ensuring Equity in Opportunity to Learn

Jun 18th, 2015

The following are elements that contribute to equality in the opportunity to learn. In an equitable system, all students would have access to:Engaged time;Quality teaching, resources and environments;Safe environments which students are free fr